Eight Spindles, One Machine

The Icon 6-250 puts eight spindles and six cutting stations to work for high productivity jobs.

Icon Technologies, a division of Hydromat Inc., has taken a fresh approach to production machining for mediumvolume to high-volume job runs of parts that measure within the size of a 10-in. cube.

The Icon 6-250 multispindle multistation machine is designed to deliver the productivity of four horizontal machining centers and four vertical machining centers unified by an ultrafast power transfer system. Gains in productivity come from the machine’s eight spindles that put eight tools in the cut simultaneously.

For added flexibility, each of the machine’s six cutting stations has its own tool changer for a total of 80 possible tools. Users can perform 5-sided machining in single clampings with 4-axis interpolation on four separate workpieces, or do double production on full-process jobs.

“Multispindle, multistation machines are the key to productivity. Single-spindle machines eat up floorspace and power and labor when shops add one after another,” Bruno Schmitter, president of Hydromat, said.

“We provide eight spindles in one small machine footprint. This is a jobshop machine that’s affordable and justified when running jobs with over 100 pieces,” he added.

Six integrated pallet changers, one for each machining station, ride on a main rotary table. The electomechanical pallet changing system lifts, rotates and places all six pallets and workpieces to the next machining station in 4.5 sec.

The pallets, from Schunk, measure 300-mm across, handle loads to 140 lb, and feature universal bolt patterns for standardized workholding. Users can introduce pallets into the machine manually, semi-automatically or with a robot. Plus, as a finished part exits the machine and a new one is loaded, the machine’s four stations continue to work uninterrupted.

All cutting stations have their own doors for easy access, water-cooled spindles that crank out 45-hp and 12,000 rpm, and standard HSK 63 toolholding capability. Axis strokes measure 300 mm in X and Y and 360 mm in Z.

The machine accommodates tools 250-mm long, 125 mm in diameter and weighing to 15 lb. To keep them cool, the Icon 6-250 sports a 1,200-gal. coolant tank that is designed for extended production runs. A vacuum filtration system delivers clean water-soluble coolant at 2.5 bar low pressure and 80 bar (optional) high pressure. Dual chip conveyors and dual control pendants, for operating the machine from both sides, are standard.